Understanding Latviešu First Conjugation Verbs
In Latvian, verbs are words that show actions, like 'run' or 'play'. The First Conjugation Verbs are a special group of verbs that follow specific rules when we change them to talk about different times, like now or later.
Important Points
- First Conjugation Verbs often end with '-t' when they are in their base form.
- These verbs change their endings to show who is doing the action and when it is happening.
- The endings change based on the subject, which can be 'I', 'you', 'he/she', 'we', 'you all', or 'they'.
When you want to use a First Conjugation Verb, you need to change its ending. This tells us who is doing the action and when it is happening. Let's look at how to do this.
To change the verb endings, we must look at who is doing the action. Here is how you change the endings for the present tense:
Important Points
- For 'I', add '-u' to the verb.
- For 'you' (singular), add '-i'.
- For 'he/she', add '-a'.
- For 'we', add '-am'.
- For 'you all', add '-at'.
- For 'they', add '-a'.
Examples
- Es spēlēju bumbu. (I am playing ball.)
- Tu spēlē bumbu. (You are playing ball.)
- Viņš spēlē bumbu. (He is playing ball.)
Now let's see how these verbs change when we talk about the past. We add different endings:
Important Points
- For 'I', add '-ju'.
- For 'you' (singular), add '-ji'.
- For 'he/she', add '-ja'.
- For 'we', add '-jām'.
- For 'you all', add '-jāt'.
- For 'they', add '-ja'.
Examples
- Es spēlēju bumbu vakar. (I played ball yesterday.)
- Tu spēlēji bumbu vakar. (You played ball yesterday.)
- Viņš spēlēja bumbu vakar. (He played ball yesterday.)
And finally, when we talk about the future, we use these endings:
Important Points
- For 'I', add '-šu'.
- For 'you' (singular), add '-si'.
- For 'he/she', add '-s'.
- For 'we', add '-sim'.
- For 'you all', add '-siet'.
- For 'they', add '-s'.
Examples
- Es spēlēšu bumbu rīt. (I will play ball tomorrow.)
- Tu spēlēsi bumbu rīt. (You will play ball tomorrow.)
- Viņš spēlēs bumbu rīt. (He will play ball tomorrow.)
By changing the endings of First Conjugation Verbs, we can talk about actions in the present, past, and future. Practice makes perfect, so keep trying with different verbs to get the hang of it!